South Carolina was one of the original 13
colonies, but the history of North and South Carolina is intertwined as both
were part of the Carolina Colony until 1710, at which time the two colonies
separated.

South Carolina is one of the first areas to be
explored by the early European explorers, with some claims as early as
1514.Despite the brief Spanish
colonization attempt at Winyah Bay, not much transpired until 1670 with the
British colony at Charlestowne (Charleston).

A number of the
early settlers started plantations where they grew indigo and rice.Slaves were brought in from Africa to help
work the plantations.Charleston and
the rest of the colony grew in importance, and by the time of the American
Revolution was one of the richest colonies.During the Revolutionary War, a number of battles were fought on the
soil of this colony.Then on May 23, 1788, South
Carolina ratified the Constitution, becoming the eighth state of the new
country.

Cotton became an important crop, and again, the
state prospered.Many settlers spread
west from the coast, and soon the entire state was filled with small towns
and communities.However, the South
Carolina government was not totally pleased with the Federal government over
any number of policies, and on Dec 20, 1860 was the first state to secede
from the United States, ushering in the American Civil War.

Once the war ended, the state began its long,
slow recovery.Today folks can explore
the backcountry searching for many of the state’s former towns.

If you know of any ghost towns in the Palmetto
State that are not listed here, or know the current status of towns listed
with little information, please contact us…

PLEASE NOTE:

Where
photos are indicated thusly (PHOTO!), please use your
browser’s “BACK” button to return to this page.More photos will be added over time.

THE GHOSTS

BRATTONSVILLE

York
Co.

This restored rural
community is located on Brattonsville
Road, off SH 322, five miles east of
McConnells.It is now considered a
“living history village.”There are 29
buildings in the park.Four are
originals that have been restored to late 1700s and 1800s
specifications.The other have been
relocated to the site, or reconstructed on the original foundations.

CAMPBELLTON

Edgefield
Co.

In July 2000, I rec’d
an E-mail from Judy Campbell with some information on this old community that
was “...a thriving town in the middle 1700's. It was located on the Savannah
River and the population was one of the largest in Old 96 District, EdgefieldCountySC.”

CHARLESTOWNE LANDING

Charleston
Co.

The site of this old colony
is located on the west side of the AshleyRiver, northwest of downtown Charleston, and part of
that city.The history dates to April
1670, when a ship of English colonists landed on Albemarle Point,
establishing a colony.The colony
prospered, and in 1680 they crossed over the river, and founded what is now Charleston.The old site faded away until 1970, when
the state obtained the site and restored it.An admission fee is charged.

DORCHESTER

Dorchester
Co.

This old colony is
located on SH 642, six miles south of Summerville.On east bank of the AshleyRiver.It was founded in 1696 by settlers from Dorchester, Massachusetts.
By the 1750s, most of the citizens had moved to Georgia, and in 1781, the fort
and what remained of the town were destroyed by British troops.Foundations have been excavated.

DUNBARTON

Barnwell
Co.

One of several
communities whose citizens were evicted so the United States Government could
use 300 square miles of the Savannah River area for development of nuclear
weapons.It was originally established
around 1899 as an agricultural town, sawmill and trading center on the
railroad.In November 1950, it was
announced that it was one of several communities in the area being shut
down.At the time the people were
“evicted” there were 300 people, a church, two schools and 15 commercial
buildings.

Ellenton is a true ghost town, as it was physically
relocated from its original location to a new spot, and renamed New Ellenton
(1980 pop 2628).The old town site is
completely off limits for any kind of exploration.

During the
Revolutionary War, Hammonds Store was located northeast of Mountville. In
1780, American soldiers stumbled upon a Tory and British soldiers encampment
at the store. The British were defeated and the store was burned.Exact location not determined.

JOHN H. GOODWIN HOUSE

Greenville
Co.

Located on US 25, 20
miles north of Greenville,
this is a privately owned c1790 two-story, wooden tavern/inn.In 1840 it was remodeled and in the late
1800s a single-story store was added.

JOHN’S CREEK FORT

Abbeville
Co.

Along the Little
River, five miles from the town of Due
West.Exact
location and any history of the site is not determined.

LANDSFORD TOLLHOUSE

York
Co.

The LandsfordCanal
is one of four canals built along the Catawba-WatereeRiver
watershed in the early 1800s.The
tollhouse is part of the Landsford Canal State Park that celebrates
the history of this historic canal system.The park has a number of canal facilities ranging from the restored
Tollhouse through ruins.It is located
several miles south of Catawba.

MANCHESTER

Sumter
Co.

Located on SH 261, five miles south of Wedgefield in ManchesterStateForest, Manchester was a 1790s era stage stop and
way station. Later it grew into an important cotton-shipping center for
steamers heading to and from Charleston.When the railroad arrived in 1852 it became
a busy railroad center, even though the station was a half-mile from the town
proper.During the Civil War it was
destroyed by Union troops, but rebuilt after the war.In 1872, nearby Wedgefield became the
railroad’s main shipping center, and Manchester
quickly died.The site is marked by an
historical marker.

MEYERS MILL

Aiken
Co.

One of several communities whose citizens were evicted so
the United States Government could use 300 square miles of Savannah River
area for development of nuclear weapons.

SANTA ELENA

Beaufort
Co.

The exact location of this
late 1500s Spanish settlement is not determined.It was located on what is now Parris Island, but didn’t last very long.

TUNNEL HILL

Oconee
Co.

This large
construction camp was established for workers building the Stumphouse Tunnel,
a 1½ mile-long railroad tunnel on the Blue Ridge Railroad.The camp was established in 1853, and
quickly grew to a population of 1500.It had a post office from 1853-1887, even though the boom times ended
in 1859 when the project was abandoned.In 1853-1859, 17 saloons were in business!Actual construction of the tunnel only was
during 1856-1859.It is located in the
far western tip of the county and state southeast of Mountain Rest, northwest
of Walhalla and west of SH 28.

WINYAHBAY

Georgetown
Co.

This short-lived
c.1526-1527 era Spanish Colony was established at Waccamaw Neck on WinyahBay.It is said to have been the oldest European settlement in North America.

MORE
INFORMATION

Historians estimate that there may be as many as
50,000 ghost towns scattered across the United States of America.

Gary B. Speck Publications is currently in
process of publishing unique state, regional, and county guides called

These original guides are designed for anybody
interested in ghost towns. Whether you are a casual tourist looking for a new
and different place to visit, or a hard-core ghost town researcher, these guides
will be just right for you. With over 30 years of research behind them, they
will be a welcome addition to any ghost towner's library.

Thank
you, and we'll see you out on the Ghost Town Trail!

For
more information on the ghost towns of SOUTH CAROLINA, contact us at Ghost
TownUSA.

E-mailers, PLEASE NOTE:

Due
to the tremendous amount of viruses, worms and “spam,” out there, I no longer
open or respond to any e-mails with unsolicited attachments, OR messages on
the subject lines with “Hey”, “Hi”, “Need help”, “Help
Please”, “???”, or blank subject lines, etc.If you do send E-mail asking for
information, or sharing information, PLEASE
indicate the appropriate location AND
state name, or other topic on the “subject” line.

THANK
YOU!:o)

IMPORTANT

These listings and historical vignettes of ghost
towns, near-ghost towns and other historical sites in SOUTH CAROLINA
above are for informational purposes only, and should NOT be construed to grant permission to
trespass, metal detect, relic or treasure hunt at any of the listed sites.

If the reader of this guide is a metal detector
user and plans to use this guide to locate sites for metal detecting or relic
hunting, it is the READER'S
responsibility to obtain written permission from the legal property owners.
Please be advised, that any state or nationally owned sites will probably be
off-limits to metal detector use. Also be aware of any federal, state or
local laws restricting the same.

When you are exploring the ghost towns of SOUTH CAROLINA,
please abide by the